ABSTRACT
Objective: Anemia is a chronic complication of rheumatoid arthritis that is produced by a number of causes. Very little interest in research is shown in this field by researchers both nationally and internationally. The main objective of the study was to determine the frequency of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis patients
Study Design: Descriptive, cross sectional study
Place and Duration of study: This study was conducted at the Hayatabad Medical Complex [HMC], Rehman Medical Institute [RMI] and Khushal Medical Center, Peshawar, from April 2015 to March 2016
Materials and Methods: Two hundred and thirty patients with rheumatoid arthritis visiting medical outdoor clinics in different hospitals of Peshawar were enrolled from April 2015 to March 2016. Detailed history was taken and clinical examination was performed. After taking consent, diagnosis of anemia was made by performing peripheral smear tests using digital sysmex XT-4000i hematology analyzer. The identity of patients was kept confidential. The demographic informations such as name, age and gender were recorded
Results: Among 230 patients, with mean age of 50 years, male-female ratio was 30%[n=70] and70%[n=160] respectively. Anemia was diagnosed in 26%[n=60] patients, while 74%[n=170] patients had no anemia among the study group. Out of 60 patients with anemia, 30%[ n=18] patients were male and 70%[n=42] patients were female. Anemia association with the duration of rheumatoid arthritis was analyzed, which shows that anemia increases as duration of rheumatoid arthritis increases
Conclusion: It is concluded from the study that rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disorder affecting multiple organs of the body and anemia is a well-known significant complication of rheumatoid arthritis as shown by the results of this study